The cookies shown above that I just made this morning may not be the prettiest cookies, but G says they are the best tasting ones out of all the cookies Lulu ever made. For as long as I remember this was always the first Christmas cookie Lulu made when she began Holiday baking. These cookies do not HAVE to be Christmas cookies but they can be decorated up for Christmas and are always a hit. G says they melt in your mouth and it wouldn't be Christmas without them!Lulu always called these "Canadian Cookies" and I recall once when I was a girl that I asked her why she called them that. She told me that she had tasted them once while visiting my dad's family in Canada and someone shared the recipe with her. She named them Canadian Cookies herself.
In our family now we call them "Nana's Cookies" because it was the last treat that she requested me to make for her when she was in the hospital shortly before she passed away. I'm not sure how many she ate because everytime I was there, she was sharing them with the doctors and nurses.
Decorated or not, they are one fine cookie and good for any holiday treat OR just for any day of the week! Lulu used to sometimes put half of a candied cherry on them before baking, but I've seldom done that because G doesn't like cherries. However, if you use red and green cherry halves they DO make an attractive tray of cookies.
- 1+1/4 Cups sifted powdered sugar
- 1 Cup shortening (I use 1/2 Crisco and 1/2 softened Imperial Margarine)
- 1 Egg
- 1 t. Vanilla
- 2+1/4 Cups Flour
- 1 t. Baking soda
- 1 t. Cream of Tartar
- 1/2 t. salt
****Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
****Prepare cookie sheets by lightly spraying with a Pam-type product
1) In large bowl blend Crisco together w/softened margarine.
2) Cream in the sifted powdered sugar. (I sift it by pushing it through a strainer)
3) Add egg and vanilla and beat well.
4) Sift together dry ingredients and add to wet mixture one half at a time.
5) Stir well until all the flour is blended in. The mixture will seem a little wet once it's done.
6) Drop by spoonsful onto cookie sheet and then, with a fork dipped in water, press to uniform thickness. At this point you can add colored sugar or other decorations, if desired.
7) Bake for 5 to 10 min until the edges are JUST browned. (Mine took 7 min) Remove to wire rack to cool
NOTE: This recipe can be doubled easily and makes enough cookies to fill a fairly large tin plus also enough to fill a tray which is what I had to do for tomorrow's party for our local CrazyQuilt Stitching group.
5 comments:
Do you think it would make a difference if I substituted baking powder for the tartar? I have done it succesfully in other recipes and am wondering if you have done so also?
Lil: You can try it. I've no idea as I've never done that. Cream of tartar has always been a staple in my kitchen and LOL here....I've no idea even what it is, just that this recipe required it and Mum always had it in the pantry.
I have this recipe too, just been awhile since I've made them and I never knew the story behind the name. Too bad I won't be in one place long enough to bake until after Christmas..... hugs, Dana
I am hoping to try these tonite for a get together tomorrow and I love the fact that the ingredients are simple enough. Have you ever made them with only shortening and not the shortening/margarine combo. I am curious why you made the switch. Was it because you wanted them to taste more buttery?
Wish me well~
I made the first batch of these today and have the second in the oven now. I admit I was quite scared when I mixed up the ingredients and you had mentioned that it was supposed to be quite wet. Mine wasn't. I don't know if it is location, temp etc. So I added a few sprinkles of water and rolled them and pressed them with a glass and added sprinkles on top. They are delish! I used shortening with no butter and they taste like shortbread without the butter. I will try your variation soon.
Can I add this to my recipe blog/collection if I link to you? I understand if not tho.
THANKS so much!!!
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